Kobe worn mask sells for $67,000

[trsent]

Re: Kobe worn mask sells for $67,000

You did not have to pre-qualify to bid -- see the cancelled bid for not pre-qualifying.

I just logged into the eBay listing (not the completed page, but the original details page) and it clearly reads at the top of the eBay page itself:

"This listing is restricted to pre-approved buyers only. Email the seller to be placed on that pre-approved list."

I'm going to guess charitable people who have never bid on eBay before saw it, wanted to donate and get a unique item and pre-registered. Not sure why people would get pre-approved then play with an auction.

Too many people speculating when we should be praising the buyer for making such a generous charitable donation. Once the media hypes something like this people come out of the woodwork who have never used eBay before and get pre-approved prior to bidding so they just bid small increments not understanding how eBay works.

New members of eBay don't understand often how to bid, so they bid one bid at a time until they are high. I used to love the old days on eBay when the items with the most bids were featured in a special place. If one guy bid 100 times, you made the list and got extra exposure. Now they realized too many people were bidding to get on this list, so now they feature most watched items, which is a better gage for an item being appreciated.

I do not believe any games were played here. Someone gave a nice charitable donation for a cause they believed in and in return they received a collectible item one day they may be able to resell for a couple of thousand of dollars.

[legaleagle92481]

Re: Kobe worn mask sells for $67,000

I believe it was legit here. NBA collectors are rabid. look at what stuff sells for on nba auctions. Its far from just JTnbafan. Stuff he does not even bid for goes for a mint on there. Regular season one game jerseys worn by guys like Blake Griffin go for 6k on meigray. A one of a kind item worn by one of the 10 greatest players ever I can see people going nuts for that. Recall his finals jerseys sell for over 30k.

[kudu]

Re: Kobe worn mask sells for $67,000

When an Ebay auction has pre-approved buyers, is the approval done by both Ebay and the seller, or just the seller? If its just the seller, doesn't that leave the gates open for shill bidding?

[trsent]

Re: Kobe worn mask sells for $67,000

http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/fandom/post/_/id/2477/buyer-of-kobe-bryant-mask-reveals-identity

A few days ago, ESPN Playbook speculated about who might have purchased Kobe Bryant’s face mask in an online charity auction.

Now, the lucky bidder has revealed himself to ESPN Playbook.

Hasmit Popat, a businessman who splits his time between Florida and Texas, is the man who placed the winning bid of $67,100.

Popat operates Hascor International Group, an international metals and minerals firm, and describes himself as a huge fan of the Lakers and Bryant in particular. He said he was specifically interested in this item because the proceeds went to the Bryant Family Foundation charity to benefit the homeless in Southern California.

Now Popat is the proud owner of the protective mask Bryant wore for 11 games after suffering a broken nose in the All-Star Game.

“I think it represents a part of NBA history,” Popat said. “He scored his 29,000th point with it. … It’s a very good cause. I believe in his charitable event for homeless people in Los Angeles.”

Although Popat spent his formative years in the Netherlands, he found himself drawn to the allure of the NBA.

“In Europe, basketball is not a big thing, unfortunately. It’s more about soccer, but I always liked basketball,” Popat said. “My connection to the Lakers goes back a long, long time. I’ve always followed the Lakers since the old days [in the Showtime era], and when Kobe Bryant started to play, I became a very big fan. I’ve always followed him, and I’ve been to many, many games.”

Popat said he eventually plans to sell the mask and give the proceeds to another charity, insisting he didn't purchase the mask to ever attempt to sell it for financial gain.

“In the meantime, I’m going to enjoy it,” Popat said. “I’ll have a piece [of memorabilia] of a future Hall of Famer. My purpose was to give something back and also have a piece of NBA history.”